Deadly beauty
by ammstar11
Summary: This was meant to be a modern day sleeping beauty AU. Nico and Will are childhood friends that are separated and have forgotten each other due to a traumatic experiance, they meet up again years later and fall in love. Octavian is totally obsessed with Nico and will stop at nothing to get his angel but Will keeps getting in his way. dedicated to youseenothing for helping make this
1. Chapter 1 Stranger danger

**So this story was created thanks to a conversation I had with my friend youseenothing and is therefore dedicated to her since she was the inspiration behind it, we have decided to have a competition to see who can write the better story so it is on! I hope you all enjoy this, please let me know what you think. It's on like Voltron!**

 **For the sake of this story Nico is an only child so there is no mention of Bianca**

 **Warning: major stalker alert! Octavian is completely crazy. Not sexual attraction to children I swear! Just really creepy obsession.**

 **(God I'm creeping myself out just writing this… _shivers)_**

 **Mentions of death.**

 **Ch. 1 Stranger danger**

Hades di Angelo was very protective of his only son Nico. He was a good child who trusted easily and was very kind but this made him an easy target for kidnappers. He was already a prime target because Hades was very wealthy and powerful and to hold his son for ransom would be very tempting for many cold hearted monsters that had no problems using an innocent child for their own greed.

…

Many times over the years Nico had been approached by shady strangers offering to take him some place fun or to get him a gift if he went with them, but thanks to the vigilant security staff they were soon chased off.

One day Nico had wondered away into a nearby park as children would and was approached by a young man with a silver tongue who said nice things and offered Nico many good things if he went with him, he was kind and not at all scary like the other people who normally approached him when no one was around, and Nico was thinking of going with him when suddenly someone called out to them.

"Hey what are you doing there, come on already!"

It was a little boy about Nico's age around seven or eight, he had a mop of blond curls and bright blue eyes and a happy grin on his face. He ran up to Nico and grabbed his hand to pull him along with him.

"Sorry mister but we were supposed to play with our friends so we need to go now, bye!" he then dragged Nico with him towards the edge of the park where other people had gathered so that their kids could play safely.

…

Octavian gritted his teeth, he was so close! Damn that brat for getting in the way!

…

Meanwhile the boy had finally stopped running with Nico trying his best to keep up, he didn't let go of his hand though as he looked back to see if the stranger was still there, luckily he was gone the boy thought to himself.

"Who… are you?" Nico huffed out looking at the boy who had whisked him away claiming they were friends.

The boy turned and smiled widely at him.

"My name's Will!" then he turned back and frowned still looking for the stranger in the direction they had just come from. "Don't you know about stranger danger? You're not supposed to be somewhere a grown-up can't see you and you shouldn't talk to strangers, we learned about in in school along with the buddy system!"

Nico just looked at him blankly.

"I don't go to school."

Will seemed shocked to hear that.

"Are you home schooled then?"

Nico nodded.

"I have a tutor."

Will was smiling again.

"Cool, I've never met anyone who never went to school before!"

And Nico had never played with someone his own age before.

Will dragged him along to meet his group of friends that were all playing a game of tag.

"Hey guys we have one more player!" he turned to Nico, "Hey what's you name by the way?"

Nico was feeling kind of shy with the other kids looking at him.

"Nico." He said just loud enough to be heard.

"Well Nico welcome to the group! We're playing tag now, since you're the newest one you can be it!" Will said as he tapped Nico on the shoulder and ran and the other kids started laughing and running too, Nico was unsure what to do at first but he ran after Will and tapped him on the shoulder in return and ran in the other direction.

Soon they were all laughing and squealing as they ran and played. But all too soon it was time to stop playing because Nico's guards had finally found him.

"Nico!" he turned to see Thanatos the chief of security staff running up to him.

"Nico where were you? We were so worried about you!" he knelt down to inspect Nico to make sure that he was unharmed.

"I got bored and came to the park, then this man started talking to me, he was really nice," at this Thanatos seemed to grow a little paler, "but then Will-" Nico pointed to the blond boy, "came and pulled me away saying that I need to be careful around strangers and had me come play where it's safe. We were playing tag, it's really fun!" he had a big smile on his face and the blond boy, Will, was looking proud of himself for helping.

Thanatos let out a sigh of relief.

"Nico you can't go wondering off on your own like that. But I'm glad you made friends." he turned to Will, "Thank you for your help young man."

Will smiled at him.

"No problem I was just following the buddy system!"

Thanatos smiled in return.

"Indeed." He turned back to Nico, "Time to say goodbye to your new friends now, your father will be worried if we keep him waiting."

While they talked a man with a striking resemblance to Will walked over to them to see what was going on.

"Can I help you?" he asked Thanatos who noticed the obvious family ties between the two, he held out his hand to the man.

"Hello you must be the father of this young man here." He said motioning to Will.

The man nodded.

"I am." he said still not sure what was happening but shaking his hand anyway.

"My name is Thanatos and I'm in charge of watching young Nico here," he motioned to Nico, "we lost sight of him and it seems he was approached by someone but Will here was knowledgeable enough to step in and pull him over here where he'd be safe. You have a good boy here."

Will was beaming at the praise and his father smiled too.

"Well that is good! Too many shady characters around these days you can never be too safe."

Thanatos gave a wry grin.

"You're telling me." he looked at his watch and saw how late it was getting. "We should be going; his father worries if we are late."

Will's father nodded in understanding.

"You know the kids seem to get along well, how about we set up a play date or something?"

Thanatos thought it over for moment then seemed to accept it when seeing the hopeful looks on the boy's faces.

"I think that would be alright."

The boys looked at each other exchanging happy smiles.

"I'll give you my card and you can call to schedule a time and place, normally I'm always watching him with today being an exception," he gives Nico a stern look to let him know that he is not pleased with him for sneaking off like he did, "so you don't have to worry about supervision."

They shook hands again after he handed over his business card.

"It was nice meeting you; I'm Apollo by the way."

"Same to you, thank you for keeping an eye on Nico for me."

Apollo laughed.

"Anytime."

With that Thanatos takes Nico's hand and leads him to their car nearby.

"I'm glad that you made a new friend today, but you were lucky this time. If no one was around and had seen that man talking to you something bad could have happened."

Nico looked down as Thanatos scolded him, he didn't mean to make Thanatos upset with him, he just got bored waiting for the grown-ups to do their work and wanted to go to the park. That guy that was talking to him didn't seem too bad so what was wrong?

Thanatos sighed knowing what Nico was probably thinking about.

"You know how your new friend was saying something about stranger danger?"

Nico nodded.

"It means that you need to be careful around people you don't know. Even if they seem nice they could still be bad people, now I'm not saying all of them are, but if someone approaches you while you are alone and wants to take you somewhere where no one can see you, under no circumstances are you to follow them, okay?" he looked Nico right in the eye to make sure that he understood and waited for him to nod. "Good, remember this, people are always looking over their shoulders for the scary looking guys, but no one is looking for the nice looking sweet talking stranger and those are the ones you should be looking for."

Nico thought this over for a while as the car took them to his father's work.

When they arrived at Hades' office he asked how the day had gone. Nico was bouncing up and down with excitement to tell his father about his new friend. On the other hand Thanatos wasn't as eager to explain how Nico had come to meet this new friend so he reluctantly told Hades of Nico's little adventure today, allowing Nico to tell his part which he enjoyed especially the part about getting to play tag with all the other kids and the possibility of seeing Will again. After he heard what they had to say Hades sighed and looked apologetically at Thanatos.

"I really don't pay you enough for this do I?"

"I make do." Thanatos smiled, after so long he had grown used to every worry that came with the job and he wouldn't trade anything for what he was already doing, working for his good friend and protecting his loved ones.

 **Okay for any of you who read this before now I am soooo sorry for my apparent hatred of punctuation, I honestly have no idea why that is.**

 **I work full-time at two jobs and have no days off so things will be slow but after I fix all of my errors I'm going to continue writing so that I have a clue as to where I was going with my stories so please bare with me, Christmas is coming up and it's going to be absolute hell for me at work so I'm going to be pretty much brain dead by the time I get home each day, I'll do my best to update though!**

 **And thank you to everyone who leaves me reviews! I go back and read them whenever I'm feeling really depressed and they make me feel better! I love you guys!**


	2. Chapter 2 Angels among us

**You guys ready for a little back story? So now we are getting into the creepy bit but I'll try to balance that with some happy stuff, and I'm a bit late in mentioning this but I do not own the characters, story is mine but was inspired by youseenothing**

 **Ch.2 Angels among us**

Octavian was not happy; he had been so close to his prize just to have it taken away by that damn brat! It had been the perfect situation to finally get what he wanted, he had even made sure that no one else was around, so where had that kid come from?

He hit the wall in front of him in frustration. The wall was covered with photos, many of them older than the rest contained a beautiful woman with long dark hair, dark but shinning eyes and a breath-taking smile, everything about her was flawless.

Maria di Angelo had been a gift from heaven, a true angel on Earth. She had been a famous actress and had started her career as a model.

Octavian looked at the photos longingly and as he stared at each his eyes began to wonder along the wall, there among photos were magazine and newspaper clippings with headlines reading:

 ** _Maria di Angelo Pregnant!_**

And

 ** _Di Angelo family out on the town._**

All had great shots of Maria always smiling and happy and just so full of joy for life.

The next news article wasn't so happy; it was a photo of Maria next to that of a funeral service with mourners standing by a casket with flowers placed on top, the headline read:

 ** _A life gone too soon, but not soon forgotten: Maria di Angelo, with the angels now._**

Next to that were photos that he himself had taken at the service; they had started with the various framed pictures of Maria that family and friends had brought for the memorial, others were of the grave that has an angel carved onto it, but slowly the photos began to drift away from the grave and service to focus on something new, something almost as beautiful as Maria had been.

Nico di Angelo age five holding his father's hand as he shed tears for the mother he had lost. Despite the tears he shed he still held the promise of the same beauty that his mother had had, one day he would have the same dark hair and eyes and angelic beauty that she had had. Even if Maria was gone Nico still remained and it was plain to see that he would be a beauty too.

After that all photos were of Nico over the past few years, he turned eight soon, but give it another ten years or so and he might even surpass his mother in looks, he already showed her joy for life.

Octavian looked now at the most recent photo on the wall, it was of Nico as he stood with his security guard looking longingly at the very park that Octavian had encountered him in today, that had been when he had formulated the plan to lay in wait in that park for the perfect opportunity to present itself and it had.

It had been perfect, so why did that brat have to come along and ruin it?! Octavian had known it was a lie when the kid had said that they were friends and were supposed to be playing together but he couldn't say that… Damn that kid for getting in his way!

…

Nico sat in a chair by the window kicking his feet as he looked outside clearly bored with being cooped up in his dad's office building all day.

He was thinking back to the other day when he had played with the other kids at the park and the fun he had had.

Thanatos sat nearby at his desk filling out his report, he looked over to Nico knowing the boy would rather be somewhere else having fun and just being a kid. He wanted to help him but aside from a small box containing toys and books kept at the office for Nico to pass the time he didn't have anything else and Nico wasn't interested in those today. As Thanatos sat and pondered how he could cheer Nico up his phone started ringing, he reached over and picked it up.

"Hello, Thanatos speaking."

"Hello, this is Apollo Solace, Will's father, we met the other day at the park?" came the caller on the other end of the line.

"Yes, hello. I'm guessing that Will would like to schedule one of those play dates we spoke of?" Thanatos smiled as he looked up to see Nico sitting still now watching him as he spoke on the phone.

Apollo let out a short laugh.

"You guessed right, anyway I know that you probably have a lot of work to do, so what do you say to me taking the boys for the afternoon, and have him back after dinner? Will hasn't stopped talking about all the things he has planned for spending time with his new friend."

Now it was Thanatos' turn to let out a small chuckle as he saw the hopeful look on Nico's face as he waited to see what Thanatos was talking about after he had mentioned the play date.

"He's not the only one, let me talk to Nico's father and I'll get back to you, but it sounds like a great plan." As he hung up the phone Nico came over to stand beside his desk, Thanatos signaled him to stay quiet while he called Hades to tell him about the phone call.

"Hello sir, you remember that new friend Nico made the other day? Well his father called offering to take the boys for the day, it seems young Will is eager to spend time together again and I think it would make Nico very happy as well." he smiled and winked at Nico.

"Well if you think it would be a good idea, I suppose it would be alright, I trust your judgment. Let me talk to Nico for a moment." Hades said on the other end of the line.

Thanatos passed the phone over to Nico so that he could talk to his dad.

"Hello?" Nico said into the phone not sure what his dad was going to say.

"Nico I want you to be good when you are with Will and his father, and if all goes well maybe we can make this into a regular event okay?"

Nico shook his head happily then remembered that his dad couldn't see him so he spoke this time so his dad would know he understood.

"Okay! I promise!"

Hades laughed.

"Alright, put Thanatos back on."

Nico handed the phone back to Thanatos as he bounced on the balls of his feet while he waited.

"Okay I'll call them right back and let them know."

With that he hung up the phone again and called Apollo back to let him know that the play date was good to go.

…

About twenty minutes later Apollo and Will pulled up outside of the office building, Nico and Thanatos waited by the main doors with Nico barely able to contain his excitement.

Apollo got out and walked over to shake hands with Thanatos as Will opened the door and waved Nico over.

"The kids sure are happy about this." Apollo said with a smile as he watched Nico jump into the back seat next to Will and excitedly talk about what they were going to do today.

"Nico hasn't really had the chance to do things like this so he was really happy when you called."

"That's a shame; kids should be able to have fun while they're young." Apollo said as he watched the kids laughing in the back seat.

The two adults walked over to the car, Apollo went over to the driver's side and got in while Thanatos walked over to the window to talk to Nico.

"Now remember what your father said, be good for Wills father and maybe this can become a regular thing." he made a show of pulling out his datebook from his jacket pocket and said, "I do believe that someone has a birthday coming up, maybe we could do something with that." he looked at the mirror where Apollo was suppressing a laugh as he watched the boys in the back seat.

"Can Will and his dad come to my birthday? Please please please?" Nico said looking at Thanatos.

"Can we dad, can we please?" Will stood on his seat to ask his dad.

"I don't see why not, after all he did say please." Apollo said and Thanatos agreed.

"I'm sure we could make the arrangements."

"Yay!" both boys were very pleased.

"Alright now buckle up back there and we'll be on our way." Said Apollo as he buckled himself in and started the car.

 **So the thing about having to write creepy people is that you have to actually come up with the creepy shit they do or say or think and it makes my skin crawl at times to the point that I kinda want to bathe in purel or something you know?**

 **Please let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3 Without a trace

**Warning Kidnapping and one swear word.**

 **Ch.3 Without a trace**

Nico had never had so much fun in his life, first they had stopped for ice cream and had sat together outside the shop to eat their treats, then they had gone to a nearby park to play on the playground, and after that they had gone to see a movie! This was the best day ever for Nico and he was so glad that his dad had agreed to let him go with Will and his dad for the day. He couldn't wait to get home and tell his dad and Thanatos about the amazing day he was having.

He had had so much fun that by the time it was time to go back he was a little disappointed, he didn't want the fun to end just yet but he remembered that Thanatos had said that if he behaved well then Will and his dad could come to his birthday that was fast approaching so he didn't complain when he was told it was home time.

…

"So how was your day out with your friend?" Thanatos asked when Nico got back.

"It was so fun! We went for ice cream and went to the park, and a movie!"

Thanatos chuckled, he was glad Nico had had so much fun with his new friend. Nico finally had the chance to have a normal childhood and just have fun.

"Can Will come over next time?" Nico asked and Thanatos smiled.

"If both your father and Will's agree than I'm sure that it will be fine."

Nico smiled as he and Thanatos headed back into the office building to wait for his father to be done with work so that they could go home together and Nico could tell him all about the amazing day he had had with his new friend Will.

…

Thanatos had worked out a schedule with Apollo for when the boys would get together.

The boys had been ecstatic about the whole thing and always looked forward to the three days a week that they would get to spend time together, going to movies, to the park, out for ice cream, and whatever else that came up. Today they would be heading to the park to meet up with the other kids.

Apollo had agreed to take the boys since Thanatos had something come up last minute, and now Nico waited for Will and his dad to arrive. His excitement was barely contained as he bounced on the balls of his feet as he looked down the street for the familiar car to pull up in front of his dad's office building.

When Wills dad drove up he parked and got out of the car as usual and went over to talk with Thanatos while Nico happily climbed into the back seat and sat himself next to Will and they chatted away.

"Sorry again about the last minute change of plans but I really need to attend this meeting today." Thanatos said as he smiled at the two boys.

Apollo shook his head.

"It's no big deal, I really don't mind."

Thanatos nodded.

"Well I'm sure they're happy regardless, I hope they don't wear you out too much."

Apollo shrugged.

"Well hopefully a day of running around at the park will wear them out more."

…

Nico and Will ran around with a few other kids that they had met at the park, someone had brought along a ball to kick around so now they were just passing it around and seeing who could kick the ball the best.

Wills dad sat over on a bench at the edge of the playground and watched them play, he had reminded them to stay close and where he would be able to see them.

Nico had kicked it as hard as he could and it had ended up shooting passed the others and shot into the bushes not far from where they had been playing.

"You kicked it so you have to go get it!" one kid told him so Nico took off after the ball, Apollo had seen him start running in the direction of the trees and called out to him.

"Don't go too far, I need to be able to see you!" but before he could stand up his phone went off and he pulled it out to see that it was a call from work so he answered the call and glanced over towards where the kids were now and then as he talked, but as the conversation went on his focus was drawn more and more towards it.

…

Meanwhile Nico had run into the trees and bushes and was looking around in the fallen leaves for traces of the ball; he knew that it couldn't have gone that far.

"What are you looking for?"

Nico jumped when he heard someone speak, he turned and saw that same young man from the time he had first met Will.

"I can't find the ball I kicked over here." but then he remembered what Will and Thanatos had said about strangers and he wondered if this counted since he had met this person before and they really did seem nice.

"Well how about I help you look for it? What does it look like?" he asked.

"Blue." Nico answered honestly, he appreciated the help, he didn't want to lose someone else's ball.

So together they looked for it.

"Well I don't see it here, maybe it went farther in?" the man suggested, Nico thought that made sense so he went with the man top look.

…

Will wondered why Nico wasn't back yet so he glanced back at his dad and saw that he was on the phone so he turned back to the other kids.

"I'll go find him, he may have tripped or something, if my dad asks we should be back right away."

One of the other kids laughed.

"Maybe a monster got him or something, scream if you need help!" he called after Will as he ran to the trees where Nico had gone.

"Where did he go?" Will asked himself as he looked around for his friend but didn't see him, but he thought he saw traces of someone having walked between some of the trees so Will followed and came out of the treeline a ways away from where he had entered and saw a small street running along the other side of the park, the only thing insight was a car in front of him and standing by the open back door was a blond man that seemed familiar.

It wasn't until he moved slightly that Will saw Nico slumped in the back seat of the car.

Without thinking Will called out to his friend and took a step forward.

"Nico!"

Startled the man turned and saw him.

"Shit!" he seemed to panic for a second but then he rushed towards Will and grabbed him.

"DAD! SOMEBODY HELP!" Will screamed as loud as he could but his cries were cut short as the man put his hand over his mouth, Will struggled as best he could and managed to kick the man in the leg and bite his hand causing him to let go, but then the man picked up a branch from the ground and hit him with it so hard that he knocked him down.

Will's head really hurt and felt really dizzy, he also felt the man grab him and drag him toward the car and toss him onto the seat next to Nico, the man then ran to the driver's side door and got in quickly and locked the doors and windows before tearing away from the park as fast as he could.

By the time Will could see clearly he sat up in the seat and looked out the back window and saw the park falling further and further away from the car as it sped away and before turning a corner Will thought he saw his dad emerge from the trees but not in time to see the car before it was out of sight.

…

Apollo had just hung up his phone and looked around to see the group of kids standing at the edge of the trees looking for something so he went over to see what they were looking for; he noticed that Will and Nico weren't with them.

"Hey where did the other two go?" he asked and one boy turned to him.

"Nico kicked the ball too hard and it went in there so he went after it, when he didn't come back Will went in too."

Apollo wasn't sure he liked the sound of this.

"And when was that?" he knew that his call had gone a bit longer than he had hoped but he had only been talking for about five minutes at most.

"A couple of minutes ago?" one boy said and the others nodded.

"Do you think a monster got them?" a younger kid asked as he looked at the trees.

Apollo almost laughed at the child's imagination but just then a scream was heard.

"DAD! SOMEBODY HELP!"

Apollo's heart almost stopped when he heard Will's voice cry for help, without a moment to spare he ran into the trees and looked around for any sign of the two boys.

By the time he broke through to the other side after hearing the squealing of tiers there was only tier tracks that showed any sign that a car had been here.

His heart clenched in ice cold terror as he wondered what could have happened to his son and his friend. With shaking hands he pulled out his phone and made the call that he had never wanted to ever have to make.

 **Well sorry this one took awhile to continue and also I'm sorry for all of the time jumps and different POV's, I hope it wasn't too confusing.**

 **Please let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4 Picture perfect

**Chapter 4 Picture perfect**

 **Deadly Huggles I never even thought of it like that but you're right, Will is like a guardian angel for Nico! I guess that's basically what I was going for but just didn't realize it.**

Apollo sat with his head in his hands while Thanatos and Nico's father spoke with the officers that had questioned him after he had reported the children's abduction. He felt torn up over the fact that this had happened while he was supposed to be watching them. He had been distracted for only a small amount of time, but that was all it took and he blamed himself.

How could he have let this happen? How could he have been stupid enough to take his eyes off of the kids? He had seen them playing too close to the trees and run into them and still he hadn't thought to stop them or go after them immediately, how could he not blame himself?

…

Nico and Will are trapped in what appears to be a rundown flat with photos and news articles plastered all over the walls. Will didn't know where exactly they were because the guy that had grabbed them had taken so many turns and back alleys that Will felt all turned around and maybe just a little car sick.

Nico had woken up not that long ago and was feeling very scared. Will couldn't blame him, he was scared too. He knew that bad things could happen when kids got stolen but he didn't know what to do to get away. What if his dad never found them? What if the police didn't come? What if they were stuck like this for a hundred years, would anyone recognize them? So many thoughts ran through Will's mind.

"Mama."

Will looked over at Nico a little surprised.

"I thought you didn't have a mom."

Thanatos had told Will and his dad one time about how Nico had lost him mom a few years ago, Will thought that was very sad to not have a mom.

He looked at the pictures that were on the wall and saw what Nico was looking at; all over the wall were pictures of the same lady over and over again. Will could read but not too much so he only got bits and pieces.

"Maria di Angelo. That was your mom?"

Nico nodded as he continued to look at the many pictures.

"You look like her, she's really pretty." Will said not really sure what else to say.

"I agree."

They both turn around to see someone walk into the room; it's the same guy as before.

Will watched as the man walked over to Nico and lifted the camera he had around his neck to snap a picture of the other boy. Nico still looked scared and Will wanted to help him.

"It's okay Nico." Will said reaching for his hand but the man grabbed Nico and pulled him away towards a stool by what looked like a sheet on the wall and odd looking lamps.

"Nuh uh. You come over here, it's time for your close-up!" the man said as he nudged Nico to the stool and waited for him to sit down.

Nico looked at Will as if silently asking what he should do, Nico was still new to interacting with strangers so he probably thought that Will could help him but Will didn't know what to do either.

Will tried to smile even though he wasn't sure he could at that moment.

"It's okay Nico." he tried again to reassure his friend.

"Would you shut up!" the man said turning towards Will and looking really annoyed with him. "If you keep talking I'll throw you in the closet or something, you weren't supposed to be here anyway!" the man yelled and both boys flinched. "That's more like it."

…

Octavian, now having the prize he's sought after for so long makes Nico the subject of his photos.

 _Finally!_ He thinks to himself. He wanted to laugh at just how easy it had been to get his hands on his Angel, with only one little set back but he finally got what he's wanted for these past few years!

"It's going to be okay Nico."

Octavian lowered his camera and took his eyes off his angel, that brat that he ended up bringing along was still talking.

"What did I tell you?" he said as he turned to the blond boy with a sneer. A bit of fear showed in the boy's blue eyes but somehow Octavian doubted it was because of his earlier threat to the kid.

"He's sacred, he's not used to strangers." the blond told him, now he thought he saw a look of defiance in those blue eyes.

 _Damn this annoying brat…_

"I was just trying to help him, I'm his best friend."

Octavian felt something snap inside him at those words, the only one his angel should need was him!

"I told you not to talk!" he yells as he grabs the kid by the shoulder and drags him over to a closet off to the side of the room. He opens the door and throws the kid in and then slams the door shut before placing the back of a chair under the handle so that it can't be opened.

Once he is sure that the door can't be opened from the inside he goes back to his main focus.

"Alright Angel, let's see that pretty face of yours." he says as he readies his camera once more.

…

While Will is locked away in the closet Nico doesn't know what to do. Did he listen and do what this man said? Did he scream for help? Was there anyone around to call for help? He looked around the room and tried his best to figure out how he could get Will and himself out of this. When the man tells him to turn and face the wall to the left Nico scans the wall and sees something familiar.

There is a red rectangle on the wall just like the one in the office that Thanatos works in, Nico knew that it was a fire alarm and that you were only supposed to pull it in emergencies, Thanatos had said that when you pull it the fire department will come to help. This was an emergency, and they needed help! But how was he going to get to it?

The man told him to look down and when he did he saw the cord for the lamp beside him running along the ground and right by the man's foot.

"Beautiful! I knew the pictures would be amazing!" the man said as he looked through the photos on his camera.

Nico figured that he thought that Nico would just sit there quietly and wait for him to tell him what to do next, and that was where he was wrong.

Nico only really listened to four people, his dad, Thanatos, Will's dad, and Will. He was only listening now because he was worried that Will would be hurt, but since Will was locked in the closet he was safe for now.

So while the man was distracted Nico slipped down from the stool without a sound and crouched down and pulled the cord as hard as he could catching the man off guard and causing him to fall over with his feet getting tangled in the cord.

Nico then ran to the closet door and moved the chair away so that Will could get out and then he rushed to the fire alarm and pulled it down.

Loud alarms rang through the air and the overhead sprinklers came on as well.

"NO!" the man screamed as he finally untangled the cord around his feet as the boys rushed for the door.

All of the equipment began to short out and spark as the water hit it, pictures and news articles on the wall were now ruined but that didn't matter, they just needed to run.

Once they had left the loft they made it to a landing with stairs going down, Nico was about to run down them but Will pulled him over to a door at the end of the hallway.

"The fire escape!" he yelled over the noise, Nico wasn't about to argue so together they ran as fast as they could through the door and down the stairs.

But before they reached the bottom Will pulled him towards a door leading to a lower floor, it was unlocked to they ran through it. Nico didn't know what Will was thinking but when Will had him crouch down away from the Window he heard running feet in the fire escape and he held his breath, scared that they would be caught again they sat there as still and quiet as they could until the man had run by and they were sure that it was safe to run again.

They climbed to their feet and hurried to the main stairs, they still needed to get out of the building and find help.

 **Bet you thought that Nico was just going to sit there scared and helpless the entire time huh? NOPE! XD**

 **Just so you know the building doesn't have many residents so there weren't many people to evacuate and they were on the top floor so they didn't end up running into anyone, I don't have a real building in mind so I'm really just making things up but I hope this helps make sense of it.**

 **If there was anything that doesn't seem like it would actually work then let me know and we can fix it.**

 **Please let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5 It's over for now

**Chapter 5 It's over… for now**

 **I'm just going to say this now: I am so, so sorry… also there's swearing in here, just a heads up.**

Once they got outside Nico and Will looked around for someplace to hide, noting that there wasn't that many people around, most have gotten as far away as they could from the burning building already.

Will and Nico turn left and start heading towards the main street a couple of buildings over, but as they pass the next alleyway a hand dashes out and grabs Nico by the arm pulling him back causing him to let out a yelp.

Will turns to see the creep holding a struggling Nico in his arm while covering his mouth.

"Shut up already!" the creep growls as he tries to restrain the boy.

Nico's still struggling but it's not really making much of a difference.

"Leave him alone!" Will screams as he runs at the creep and kicks him as hard as he can in the leg just under his shin and punches him in the groin and Nico bites the hand that has now let go of his mouth, then Will is pulling Nico along with him and they rush away from the guy that's now doubled over in pain.

"Come on!" Will huffed out as they ran as fast as they could, already the guy was trying to follow them but from how red his face was it was clear that he was still in a great deal of pain and extremely angry.

"Damn brats!" he grit out from between clenched teeth as he hobbled after them.

When Will chanced a glance back at the guy he noticed with horror that the guy was now carrying a knife and he looked ready to use it, Will returned to looking ahead and picked up the pace as he pulled Nico along. He didn't know if anyone would notice what was going on since all attention was on the fire but he started yelling as loud as he could anyway.

"Help! Help! He's got a knife! Somebody help!" his lungs felt like they were on fire from the effort of screaming while running but he couldn't let up now, there were people just up ahead and he needed to get help.

"Help!" Nico had joined in and people finally took notice of the two of them and then man not too far behind.

Will screamed out of pure terror as hands grabbed him but he was able to calm down slightly when he saw that it was a different man than the one chasing them and someone else had put themselves between the two of them and the guy after them, another two were holding the guy back and trying to get the weapon away from him.

When Will could think straight again he saw that they were fire fighters and police officers that had arrived. Will's heart was still thumping away in his chest and Nico was standing nearby crying but it seemed like they had managed to find help in time before anything really bad could happen.

The firefighter nearest the boys wrapped them in shock blankets and tried talking to them to let them know that they were going to be alright while a police officer was on the radio calling in the incident and reporting that they found the two missing boys.

Neither Nico or Will were able to take this in though, they were still getting over the whole ordeal that had just played out in the past few hours. A crowd had gathered around to see what all of the commotion was about but they were kept back by the first responders on scene.

Soon more cars arrived one black with two men getting out and one red with a single man exiting it, they rushed over to the two boys to make sure that they were alright.

"Will!"

"Nico!"

Both fathers embraced their sons and held them close as the boys cried and clutched tightly to them seeking a sense of security, it was finally over, the scary part was finally over and they were safe.

EMT's explained the importance of getting the boys checked over to make sure that there were no lingering effects from the fire, any smoke inhalation or problems brought on by shock.

Both fathers agreed and they went with them to the nearest hospital. No one dared look over at the one responsible for this whole mess as he was being loaded into the back of a squad car and taken away; the fire fighters had already gone to take care of the blaze to get it under control.

…

Will must have dosed off at some point because he found himself waking up in a hospital bed with his dad sitting hunched over in a chair next to the bed looking as if he had aged about ten years in half as many hours.

Will tried to sit up but felt pain shoot through his head and he let out a gasp as he tried to keep still and hoping to make the pain go away.

The sound must have gotten his dads attention because he looked up immediately and his face flooded with relief as unshed tears began to flow.

"Will! Oh God you're awake!" he shot up from his chair and embraced his son as best he could without hurting him. "Please tell me you're okay, are you in any pain? Where does it hurt?" his dad shot out in rapid-fire and Will had to try really hard to follow what was being asked.

"I think I'm okay, my head hurts though." he looked around a bit confused as he took in the hospital room around him. "What happened? Why are we here?" he asked looking at his dad who stopped his fretting and looked at him wide eyed.

"What do you mean? Don't you remember?"

But Will just looked like he was thinking really hard but nothing was coming to him and finally he just shook his head as he looked back at his dad.

"No, did something happen?"

…

Apollo felt his stomach plummet as he realized what was happening here, Will must have had amnesia brought on by a combination of the stress of the day and the shock from everything that just happened. His eight year old mind probably repressed every horrible thing that happened today and he didn't have any idea what he had been through.

Suddenly more tears were spilling from his eyes and Apollo held his son once again as he cried for him.

"Dad, are you okay?" Will asked and Apollo hated that he couldn't even explain why he was so upset for fear that the whole ordeal would come back and do more damage to his sons mind so instead he just pulled back and looked at Will.

"You were in an accident and you probably don't remember but I'm sure that you will be just fine okay?" he asked and Will nodded his understanding even though he didn't know what he was being told because everything was a blank for him and Apollo felt his heart breaking.

"You're going to be okay, I promise." he said quietly. "Now lay back down for now okay? You need to get some rest."

Will did as he was told and soon settled back into the bed.

There was a knock at the door and Apollo looked over to see that it was Thanatos standing there looking solemn as he took in the sight of the sleeping boy in the bed. Apollo stood up and went over to the door and closed it behind him. Neither of them spoke until they were out in the hallway alone.

"How is Will doing?" Thanatos asked after a few heartbeats of silence that felt deafening.

Apollo let out the breath he just realized he had been holding since Will had settled back into bed.

"He seems to have repressed everything that has happened, I don't know yet the extent of the memory loss but there is also no telling whether or not it will come back soon or even ever. I'm a doctor but I feel so useless right now and this is my own son, I should be able to do something but I couldn't even keep him or Nico safe! It was the park for God's sake! It should have been safe! They should have been safe damnit!" he began shouting but he couldn't help it.

Thanatos place a comforting hand on his shoulder but it didn't do much to help.

"I can't believe how easily everything went wrong, things like this shouldn't happen, but it has and I don't know what to do about it!" Apollo cried as he looked at the other man. Finally he was able to take a few deep breaths, though they were a bit shaky he was able to speak in a more controlled voice now.

"What about Nico? How is he?" he was reluctant to ask because after the boys had been examined it was evident that Nico had some scrapes and bruises but nothing more serious, but that was only outwardly, there was no telling what kind of lasting effects still lingered in the poor boys mind as well.

Thanatos guided them over to some chairs nearby and after they sat down he took a deep breath before speaking.

"The doctors already looked him over and it seems he's in much the same condition as Will is right now, he doesn't remember what happened but while he was sleeping he was thrashing around as though caught in a horrible nightmare, his father is watching over him now. I don't know if I've ever seen Hades this upset, even when he had lost his wife. I think he's going to take some time off of work for a while until things are either resolved or go back to some semblance of normalcy, but after something like this I don't know if that will be possible.

"I'm going to have my work cut out for me trying to keep this under wraps from the press." he said as he let out a long suffering sigh though it seemed more like an afterthought.

Apollo didn't know what else to say at this point, he hadn't even thought about the press since he was still so worried about his son's condition but Thanatos was right, this was something that would make headlines in an instant and there would be a lot of commotion over it, the sons of an important CEO and a doctor kidnapped from a local park while out of sight and then later found escaping from a burning building with a knife wielding lunatic chasing after them? The city would go into mass hysteria for sure.

"The good news is that because they are children their names won't be out there for the world to see but eventually this is going to get out and I'm going to have to deal with it." Thanatos said still looking at the ground. "The good thing that came from this aside from the boys making it out of there is that they managed to get the sonofabitch responsible for all of this. Unfortunately there's still court to deal with, this will likely be a long and agonizing trial that could go on for quite some time since neither of the boys are in any condition to tell their part of the story, they may never be able to remember it to be able to tell. For now all we can do is hope that they find as much evidence as they can for a long sentence."

Apollo couldn't agree more, he hoped that the sonofabitch rotted in jail and took the express to hell. He took a deep breath before asking the next part that he dreaded to hear.

"And what happens now? I can't imagine we could risk another incident like this happening again." Everything still felt so surreal that he could hardly believe it was reality in any stretch, this felt like something that happened in late night drama's on tv or in movies but this was really happening.

Thanatos sighed and shook his head.

"Hades thinks it best if we split the boys up now to avoid any further problems. The less they remember of this day may be for the best. Let them grow up with somewhat normal experiences and not let the memories of today weighing them down."

Apollo hated it but he couldn't help but agree, it broke his heart to think of how the two had grown so close in such a small span of time and now that friendship was being torn at the seams and they were being separated, how could anything like this be considered a mercy?

"That's not all, it seems that Hades is so worried that something like this could happen again that he's going to send Nico away and stay someplace safe. I shouldn't even be telling you this but I thought that you deserved to know. And you should also know that we don't blame you, take it from me: you can't be ready for everything, and that's my job."

Apollo nodded mutely, he still felt like he had failed everyone and all because he had to take one lousy phone call… what kind of a parent was he when he let work get in the way of his child's wellbeing? He was a failure and he had so much regret over everything that had happened.

"I'm glad you told me, though I can't even tell Will. It's like we have to erase this entire day from them but I don't know how long that will work, is it even possible to do that?" he stared at his hands that sat clenched and shaking in his lap as he thought over everything.

"I don't know, but it's the only option we have now. For both of their sakes, this is for the best."

Apollo laughed but it held no humor, only bitterness.

"Heh, I wonder if they'll see it that way."

They sat there in silence after that as though the weight of the world had been loaded onto their backs, both of them trying to tell themselves that it was for the best for both boys.

 **Okay just so you know it was supposed to feel like everything was happening so fast it was hard to really comprehend everything plus it's late. Also I'm sorry for the feels trip but it was needed for the sake of the story I swear! Please don't hate me! also did you know that Microsoft Word accepts** ** _sonofabitch_** **as a real word? Interesting...**

 **Anyway I told you that I would be back to my other stories and here's the proof, please review and let me know what you think! After this is going to be a big time jump so be ready, Ammstar out!**


	6. Chapter 6 Walking in a dream

**Chapter 6 walking in a dream**

For nearly the past ten years Nico has lived with his aunt Hestia out in the country side. He came to live with her after he recovered from an accident he had been in, but he couldn't remember exactly what had happened; all he knew was that living out here was supposed to help him recover and stay healthy. He didn't mind really because it was peaceful out here and he enjoyed it.

Hestia was kind and took good care of him and he loved her very much; he had lost his mother while he was still young and didn't really remember her well so he imagined that Hestia was sort of like a mom. She herself hadn't had any children but treated Nico like her own and he loved her for it.

Nico hadn't seen his father much over the years, after the accident Hades had insisted that Nico should go live elsewhere but he himself couldn't leave because of work so he had stayed behind. Nico didn't really know how to feel about that, growing up he knew that he had loved his dad very much but now they rarely spoke or saw one another, though his dad did send him gifts from time to time.

Nico wondered just what had happened to drive them apart like this, was it due to whatever that accident had been? That was the only part really missing from Nico's memories; parts of the summer and fall from when he was about seven or eight were just gone. He never really understood why but a small part of him felt like he was missing something important, he just figured that that was normal for anyone who couldn't remember something though so he left it alone. Instead he focused on helping his aunt around the cabin they shared located in the mountains.

Hestia owned a small business that she operated from close to home and Nico had been helping her with it since he was about fifteen, together with a couple of Hestia's friends they led nature walks and hikes for tourists.

Nico kind of enjoyed telling people various facts and leading them to his favorite places, but his favorite part of the job was actually getting the chance to talk afterwards and more specifically to a certain blond who came on these walks regularly.

Nico's face heated up as he thought of the blond, he had started coming on the nature walks weeks ago but though they had only met relatively recently Nico felt drawn to him, almost like they had known each other for a lifetime. There was just something about the way his blue eyes would shine when he smiled or the sound of his laugh that made this warmth grow inside Nico's heart that he couldn't quite explain.

They tended to get repeat customers a lot but Nico couldn't help noticing just how regularly the blond showed up, at this point Nico would feel a bit disappointed if he didn't see him at some point during the week. He couldn't help thinking back to the time he had first seen the blond on one of the walks or hikes.

…

"Nico! Time to leave for the hike!"

Nico snapped out of his thoughts when his aunt called for him, he had been sitting in his room staring blankly at the book he had been attempting to read for the past hour or so but his mind kept wondering.

"Be right there!" he called back as he grabbed his hat and sprayed himself down with bug spray and threw on his boots.

As Nico rushed out the door he grabbed his backpack that sat waiting by the door for him and headed for the car where his aunt and her friend Athena waited for him.

"Hey," he said to the other two as he buckled himself in, "Artemis not coming with us?"

Athena started the car and headed towards the lodge where they began and ended all hikes and walks.

"She said that she'd meet us there, there's something she needed to do first today."

Nico was kind of curious as to what that something could be but figured that it could wait until later so he just sat back and watched the scenery go by as they drove.

Once they reached the lodge he noticed the various vehicles lining the small parking lot and interestingly enough he saw a motorcycle mixed in with the usual jeeps, vans, and trucks. He also spotted Artemis' car meaning she had driven here before them.

Figuring the something she had to do involved the hike he shrugged and headed into the staff area to fill his canteen before they headed out.

Once he entered the main lobby of the lodge he noticed that they had a rather large group today meaning they would most likely be splitting off into at least two groups to make them more manageable.

He took his usual position near the check in desk as he let the other three take the reins on the operation like always. He looked over the crowd and his eyes were drawn to a mop of blond hair on the edge of the group closer to where he stood. He was taller than Nico by a few inches; he had tan skin and shaggy golden hair. Nico was pulled from his observations when his aunt started the usual guidelines review and just as Nico had already guess she informed the group that they would be splitting up into two groups, one led by Nico and herself and the other by Athena and Artemis.

After that they separated into the two groups and headed out to the trails. Nico loved leading the hikes and pointing out the different animal trails or teaching people simple bird watching techniques. Like always there were the people that would ooh and ah when they would spot a bird from their field guide and try to get a quick snapshot of it when Nico would point it out. It made him happy that there were still so many people that enjoyed the outdoors, there was just something so freeing about being out here with nature.

Still his attention kept wandering over to the blond boy that had ended up in their group. He seemed to be having a great time and Nico couldn't help feeling a fluttering in his stomach any time he saw him smile, and when he caught a glimpse of those blue eyes he felt like he was seeing something out of a dream. Finally they stopped for lunch and set up outside the lodge from where they would continue from after an hour.

They met up with the other group and Nico watched as Artemis walked over to the blond he'd been stealing glances at all morning.

"That's her nephew." Hestia said as she came over to sit next to Nico at the edge of the group of picnic tables.

"Huh?" he asked as he blinked at his aunt, honestly he hadn't been paying attention to anything around him so he nearly jumped when he heard her speaking to him. He hadn't even noticed her approach.

"The blond you haven't stopped staring at all day. He's her nephew from the city, she thought it would be good for him to come out and enjoy the great outdoors for a bit while he has a break from school." She gave him a knowing smile as he blushed and cleared his throat as he turned away.

"Who says I was staring at him?" but it was no use he knew she'd know what was happening and he knew he hadn't exactly been discreet

"Mmhmm, she told me about this the other day, said that he was about your age and she thought that he could use a break from his studies for a while and she told me that she practically had to drag him away from his father, seems he's a bit overprotective."

Nico didn't need to think too hard about what that might be like, after all his father had shipped him off out here after he was in an accident 'just to be safe' he'd said.

"Well I hope he enjoys the hike then." Nico said as he finally focussed on his own lunch.

Hestia glanced over to where the blond sat and noticed the way he seemed to glance over in Nico's direction and smiled. "I have a feeling he will."

…

After the hike was over there was time at the lodge for people to ask questions and look around the information center at various facts about local fauna and flora. This was Nico's time to shine; he loved sharing his knowledge with people and was always eager to answer any questions they might have.

This time though he found his time occupied with a certain blond that seemed really interested in different types of plants and what uses they have.

…

Ever since that day the two of them spent as much time before and after the walks and hikes and during the lunch break just talking and getting to know each other. Nico always felt a slight thrill anytime he'd see that motorcycle parked outside the lodge and would skip his usual trip to the staffroom opting instead to head over to the information center in search of his favorite hiker.

If Hestia and the others noticed they never said anything for which he was grateful to them.

 **Okay it's almost 2 am (again) and I'm really tired so here's what I've got for you I hope you like it and I've fixed any mistakes I could find.**

 **Also I've basically been BS-ing my way through most of this because I haven't been on a hike or nature walk for years and I don't even know what area I'm actually working with so just imagine what you will, I kept it vague on purpose sorry, I threw in whatever I could remember from fieldtrips back in elementary school.**

 **Sorry this took so long, please let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7 Good for the soul

**Chapter 7 Good for the soul**

Will loved going on the nature hikes his aunt and some of her friends organized, he had been so stressed out with school and work that he felt that if she hadn't dragged him away from his dad he'd have lost his mind.

…

Artemis had insisted that he take some time away from his hectic life to just relax and what better way than to get in touch with nature?

His dad had not been very willing to let him go though; something about the possibility of getting hurt? His aunt had just rolled her eyes. She had offered to drive him out to the park where the lodge was but Will had insisted on taking his bike so he would just follow her car. To be honest he loved the freedom riding his bike brought him and the fact that he could actually go somewhere and just get away from everything was simply amazing.

He couldn't wait to learn about the different wildlife that inhabited the area or the types of plants that grew there. He'd listened intently as his aunt had described the walks and hikes they led at the lodge and it all sounded incredible.

"Come on Apollo, he's eighteen already, just let him enjoy his youth before you have him stuck working at the hospital like you. Besides Hestia has her nephew working with us, he's about the same age as Will, and maybe if people see more young people actually enjoying these hikes it would encourage more to join in."

"But are you sure it's safe?" Apollo asked and Will wanted to roll his eyes, his aunt on the other hand didn't hold back her exasperation.

"Honestly Apollo, he's not a child anymore. You and I both know that Will is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, there's nothing to worry about and the lodge is perfectly safe."

Will watched his dad intently, dreading that he might still say no but eventually he let out a heavy sigh and nodded as if defeated. "Alright, but only because I trust you."

Will had been so happy that he could have jumped up and leaped for joy while whooping loudly, but instead he settled for sharing a smile with his aunt. He mouthed a grateful "Thank you!" to her while his dad sat back with a hand to his forehead as if trying to rid himself of a headache that had suddenly sprung up.

Will did actually jump up from his chair and ran as fast as he could to his room to get ready, his aunt had said that the hike that day started in the next 3 hours and it would take roughly an hour and a half to drive out there and he didn't want to waste any time.

This was his first bit of real freedom since he was a kid, sure he could go hangout with friends or go to work or school without his dad but ever since the accident ten years ago his dad had insisted that he keep a phone on him at all times and call him every hour on the hour (unless he had a test or work was busy) but if he didn't contact him within the next half hour his phone would be flooded with texts and voice mails until he reassured his dad that he was safe.

Will knew his dad loved him and though it was kind of suffocating at times he appreciated how much his dad cared, he just wanted some time to get away from it all for a little bit so that he didn't have to check his watch regularly to make sure he didn't miss calling or texting on time. Just for a few hours he could be worry free that his dad was going to have a panic attack because he didn't know exactly where he was.

For a while Will had joked around and would call his dad or leave a text or voice mail if he didn't pick up saying things like "5 o'clock and all's well!"

But one time he had actually forgotten to charge his phone and it had died while he was at the library studying and lost track of all time. By the time he had gotten home and charged his phone he saw the texts and voice mails from his dad getting more and more frantic as he called again and again from the hospital where he was on call that evening and Will's heart clenched each time as he remembered the absolute terror in his dad's voice as he sounded on the verge of tears and full out panic.

Since then Will had never missed a check in or forgot to charge his phone, he didn't know why his dad was so frantic but he knew that he would never let him worry like that ever again so long as he could help it.

Will was pulled from his thoughts as he felt his aunt place a gentle hand on his shoulder; he turned to see her watching him with concern clear in her eyes. He tried to give her a reassuring smile but it felt too forced to even appear real.

"I know this is a big step for the both of you but don't worry I'll be there with you and even if I'm not right there next to you the others will take care of you and I'll be texting your dad so you don't need to, though you still can if it helps." She stepped passed him and started shifting clothes around his closet to find something for him to change into. "Here this will do. I'll be downstairs so meet me down there when you're ready."

…

Will dismounted his bike and put his helmet away as his aunt walked over to stand next to him. The drive out here had felt so exhilarating that he still had a smile on his face that he doubted would be going away anytime soon. This was it, he was here and he was buzzing with excitement!

His aunt smiled at him and led the way to the main building where they could wait for everyone else to arrive.

Will kept glancing around trying to take everything in at once; he'd been on field trips as a kid but his dad had always insisted on going as a parent chaperone so he always got put in the same group as his dad and anything he did that could be qualified as 'unsafe' would worry his dad. Back then he couldn't take his time and fall to the back of the group or explore when they were given time to just look around so this was a new experience for him and he was going to enjoy every second of it!

Will watched as more and more people began to arrive and noticed when one car in particular let out three people, two women around his aunt's age and a boy maybe about the same age as himself. He watched as they headed over to the staff room and realized that these must be the friends that his aunt had mentioned, meaning that the boy was her friend's nephew. Will wondered if maybe he'd have the chance to talk to him, as happy as he was to spend time with his aunt he'd also like to talk to someone his age.

As people began to gather in the main lobby Will remained towards the outside of the group and waited as the guides began explaining how things would be, as it turned out he was put in the group with the boy, who upon closer observation was actually quite attractive… Will didn't mind being in a different group from his aunt. He also had a sneaking suspicion that she was fully aware of this.

Will couldn't help watching the boy, whose name he learned was Nico, he just had this feeling of familiarity about him and Will though really enjoying the hike kept focusing on Nico

By the time they stopped for lunch Will was sure this was the best thing to happen to him since before he could remember. Everything was just so interesting and he couldn't help being drawn in by the level of enthusiasm Nico put into explaining things. The way he knew a bird just by the sound of its call or how he could easily point out a deer trail that would have otherwise been missed showed how much he enjoyed his job and Will found himself feeling grateful that he had been placed in this group.

While he sat and ate lost in thought his aunt came over and sat next to him.

"So you seem to be having a good time, Hestia said that you seemed really focused on the information. I've already text your dad to let him know that everything is fine."

Will stopped mid bite when he realized that more than four hours had passed and he hadn't spoken to his dad, he had been so engrossed in his little bit of freedom that he had actually forgotten all about even checking to make sure that he had a signal out here. He tried to push down the feeling of guilt welling up in the pit of his stomach for completely forgetting.

His aunt seemed to know what was going through his mind because she placed her hand over his and gave a light squeeze to reassure him that everything was just fine. "Don't worry, just like I promised I've been keeping him updated, and Hestia has been keeping me informed too. By the way, when are you going to actually speak to him?"

Will glanced at her a little confused for a moment. "Well I guess since we're having lunch now I can call dad and let him know I'm having fun."

She actually laughed and patted his cheek at that. "Oh sweety, I wasn't referring to your dad, I can handle him. I meant Nico, from what Hestia has been telling me you two can't seem to keep your eyes off of each other."

Will felt his face flame up like it had just combusted and turned into the sun. "What?!"

She chuckled and glanced over to where Hestia sat with Nico. "I was hoping you two would be able to get along since he doesn't usually have anyone his own age around but I don't think we need to be concerned with that. I would suggest asking him questions about things you've learned on the hike, he likes sharing his knowledge with people." With that she patted his hand and got up leaving him there in a mini state of shock.

He couldn't help the way his eyes wondered over towards Nico and saw the way Hestia noticed and smiled his way before turning back towards Nico. Maybe if his face remained as red as it felt right now he could claim it was sunburn.

…

By the time the actual walking part was over they made their way back to the information center and people were able to walk around and look at the different displays and information charts posted everywhere. Will thought about what his aunt had told him and decided to give a shot; he made his way over to Nico and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hi I was wondering what you could tell me about the different types of plants that grow around here and what kind of properties they might have." That seemed like a safe topic, at the very least he play it off as being interested in if they had any medical applications.

He would have to give his aunt a huge hug later after seeing the way Nico's face lit up and how happy he seemed while explaining things that Will couldn't help getting excited about it too.

…

Ever since that day Will had managed to work out a deal with his dad to allow him to come out here for the hikes at least once a week during summer break. He hadn't told his dad that part of the fixation he had with these excursions was the young field guide, as long as Will or Artemis called or text him regularly he had no complaints and didn't ask any questions except if Will had a good day.

With each trip that passed Will could honestly say that yes he had had a great day.

 **Sorry for the wait! This came out longer than planned but that's okay!**

 **Please let me know what you think!**


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